Happy Easter everyone! Happy Easter! Although as I survey the world from the vantage point of my highest perch, I’ve come to notice how humans celebrate Christmas Day far more than Easter Day. Even though Easter Day is all about the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the Salvation of humanity. Humans don’t do much in the way of Easter parties or Easter feasting, Easter presents or Easter games. And that’s because the joy of Easter Day is tempered by the shame and the guilt of Good Friday. And the human race really does need to feel guilty. Because out of all of the creatures created by God, it was human beings that ultimately rejected Jesus and all that He stood for, by brutally murdering Him on the cross. This was, is and will always be the darkest moment in human history.
Photo credit: Pixabay
So for human beings, Eastertime can be a wrestling match between all kinds of different emotions. The dire horror of Good Friday, the empty void of Easter Saturday, and the relief and joy of Easter Sunday. And these three days at the very heart of Easter, mimic so much of human experience here on Earth. Human beings get so many things wrong during their lifetimes, and so often press the “self-destruct” button. After which comes the terrible time of reckoning; the empty void of nothingness that results. And finally, the extraordinary realisation that despite everything, the love that God and Jesus have for all living things continues undiminished. So much so that humans are personally invited to join them in Heaven.
Easter Day could so easily have become the day when Jesus was resurrected and then went on to eradicate the human race from the face of Earth in a furious act of retribution. That’s probably how a lot of us today would have reacted in the same situation. But not Jesus.
Easter Day has never been about violence and revenge. Instead, it’s a day that celebrates an extraordinary act of forgiveness towards mankind. It’s a day that’s all about the love of Jesus, resurrecting itself from the tomb, to envelope the very worst that human beings have to offer. Easter Day is about a level of love, compassion and goodness which defies all human understanding and logic. And it’s a day when Jesus Himself invites us, calls and beckons us to join Him in Heaven despite what has gone before.
So, as a human being this Easter Sunday, how should you respond to all this? Well, there’s probably only one way in which you can. And that’s by filling your heart with humility and thankfulness, and by allowing the essence of God to work through you. It’s also about getting rid of pride or denial and learning to accept the reality of Jesus’ gift to all humanity. It’s only when humans can accomplish all of these things that they can truly know how to celebrate Easter Day. And so I round off in the same way as I began this piece in the hope that my words ring true to you. Happy Easter everyone. Happy Easter!
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